I'll Bring the Trail Mix

I'm excited about this upcoming dinner event at the North Cascades Institute this weekend. Tom is staying home with the hounds and Mair Farm cat and I'm heading to the Institurte early because I'm attending a base camp and the Institute is also hosting their annual picnic on Saturday afternoon. The picnic is free to anyone who wants to attend, so if you want to stop by, be sure to say hello.

Their blog this week featured an article I wrote about the importance of eating locally. (Watch out, it might make you hungry for apples). They also had this post that spotlights two of my favorite recipes. Margie's Raw Apple cake is amazingly easy to make.

Chef Shelby Slater selected a number of recipes from my book--Zucchini Cream Sauce over risotto, Spicy Spinach and Red Cabbage Salad to name a few. I hope Shelby makes the carrot hummus for an appetizer, but whatever he creates, I can't wait to taste it. I got a glimpse of the menu yesterday and the Hot Apple Soup will make a perfect blog post on Monday.

After the dinner I'll present a slide show of local farms and food and my talk will include farms in Skagit Valley where the Institute gets food for their events. Blue Heron Farm is contributing vegetables for the dinner and it's on the way, so I'm stopping on the way there.

Is there anything cooler than an invitation to a farm?

I spoke with Anne Schwartz of Blue Heron Farm earlier this week and I learned a lot about her farm. I first heard about her farm a few years ago while shopping at Skagit Valley Co-op. A sign hanging over carrots displayed the name and it was such pretty farm name that it stuck in my mind. Later, I bought a copy of "Washington: Renewing the Countryside" and I found a profile of Blue Heron Farm. Not long after that I heard Anne talk at The American Farmland Trust's Farm Steward of the Land Award in 2008 in Seattle. I think she spoke before Nash Huber, the first Northwest farmer and the first organic vegetable farmer to win the award.

Check your local library for Washington: Renewing the Countryside, edited by John Harrington.

Anne's farm is on Highway 20 before you get to Cascadian Home farm where Anne says she worked for 12 years. Looks like I'll be stopping at this farm stand where I hope they still have a few berries.

Here are a few pictures I'm including in the slide presentation.

This is a picture taken Rockridge Orchards, where farmer Wade Bennett keeps his own bees. It's not exactly Skagit Valley but nothing much happens without bees in the produce world no matter where you live. It's one of the topics Ill cover the the presentation.

And how can you do a food and farming presentation in Washington in the fall without talking about apples? This is Bellewood Acres on Ten Mile Road near Lynden. It was at this farm store where I bought the book above that ultimately led me to Blue Heron Farm.

Seed growing and saving farmland are two other features of the presentation.

And for some reason, this picture makes the cut for just about every slide presentation. I love that Buzz at Rent's Due Ranch sits so confidently on this heaping compost pile that feeds the crops at Rent's Due Ranch.

I'm really looking forward to this event, but I hate to leave my Cooking Assistant behind since he's also my portable therapist and resident comedian who always makes me smile, even when he steals food, since it's usually my own fault.

I think he picks up little clues that I'm leaving before the bags ever appear. One clue is my standard homemade snack food--trail mix.

The little biscuits are gluten-free crackers. I'll write a post about those sometime soon.

Here is the Trail Mix that I adapted from my book:

Trail Mix Redo

(Makes 3 3/4 cups)

3/4 cup nuts (use walnuts and hazelnuts for Northwest selections)

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

1 or more tablespoons tamari

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped dried fruit (apricots, apples, nectarines, peaches, pears)

1/2 cup dried cherries or grapes

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Roast hazelnuts for 7 and walnuts for 5 minutes. Add sunflower and pumpkin seeds and roast for 3 minutes or until they taste lightly toasted. Remove from oven and sprinkle with tamari.

2. Stir and return to oven to dry for just a few minutes.

3. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit.

As I snapped pictures of Finn with the food, I almost missed Skinny Chloe behind me, who likes it best behind the scenes. "Oh no you caught me!"

And then quicker than a squirrel stealing plums, she whips her head around.

Some dogs are just born with a proclivity for posing, the love of the lens and the idea of their own Facebook fan page as long as it involves rewards. They can work it for 15 minutes or more of fame. Skinny Chloe is content to work behind the scenes, as long as she gets equal rewards.

Romanesco, Slow Roots and Upcoming Events

Romanesco from Whispering Winds Farm was on my menu this past week as I perused recipes and outlined ingredients I'd need for the Slow Roots Festival in Stanwood this weekend.

The Romanesco had nothing to do with the event, but the way I cooked it, was made in the same way that I'm cooking this weekend at the event.

I'm bringing one written recipe to share, and the other recipe will be more intuitive based on what's at the market that day.

First let me say thanks to farmer Char Byde from Whispering Winds who introduced me to Tom Bird of Snowbird Books in Stanwood. He asked me to participate in the festival and right away I suggested my friend Kathy Gehrt because her book, Discover Cooking with Lavender has been selling as fast as trendy cupcakes.

(And if you don't have a copy of her book, it's about time, you checked it out. Really, lavender is quite delicious and Kathy has tons of tips for using it.)

Also attending this event is Graham Kerr (the former Galloping Gourmet) who will be talking about his first garden and his newest book. Can you believe it's number 29? I'm so excited about this because it was the early Galloping Gourmet TV shows inspired my love of cooking.

Anyway back to the Romanesco. If you aren't familiar with this vegetable, it's actually a cauliflower relative. And, we were supposed to have enjoy it at this farm-to-fork dinner in July, but the weather was so damp and cold, the vegetables were all late and this one was nearly a month late.

Check out how beautiful this vegetable is, tucked into the green leaves, looking like a queen.

I was thrilled when Char harvested this one for me.

Even my Cooking Assistant is impressed, and check out the Costata Romanesco zucchini (also from Whispering Winds Farm. This ridged zucchini has a better texture than smooth zucchini and I love the sweet flavor.

FYI: plunge the head of romanesco in a sink filled with salt water to dislodge any interloper insects that may have taken up residence before cutting it up and cooking it.

I had some big sweet onions and fresh salsa from Gathering Together Farm that I'd purchased at the Hillsdale Farmers' Market.

I had about a half an hour to make dinner, so I blanched the romanesco and sauteed the onions. When the onions were soft, I added a good helping of salsa and then stirred in the romanesco. I grated a bit of Parmesan cheese over each serving and tucked a slice of toasted artisan bread into each bowl.

You could add some sauteed tofu, toasted pecans or even some white beans for more protein if you want.

Okay it's minimalist, but when you cook with the best ingredients, fresh from the farm, you don't have to tweak flavors much.

If you have time, stop by the Slow Roots Festival on Sunday afternoon and say hello The Garlicky Greens always get rave reviews, and my hazelnut seasonal fruit smoothies go fast.

Upcoming events on my calender include:

September 10th, 12:00 pm the The Food Summer at Tumwater Library where I'll share stories about local farmers like the late Bob Meyer of Stoney Plains Farm who was one of the original organic farmers at the Olympia farmers market and was among the first farmers to be certified organic in this state.

September 24-25 at The North Cascades Institute where I'll share stories and information about Skagit Valley farms like Blue Heron Farm and Gibbs' Organic Produce and talk about trends in farming. I can't wait to taste the dinner form locally grown produce at this event!

Each event brings different rewards. My Assistant hopes I'll find more cool dog biscuits like these cool dog cookies I found at a shop on Whidbey Island.

Healthy Food Choices for Life

Last fall when I checked to see if a local library carried my book, one of the librarians asked if I'd be interested in giving a talk. At the time I was planning a talk and slide show for this event in Snohomish, so I proposed a talk about healthy foods.

I've followed healthy whole food topics since I discovered whole-wheat bread as a teenager. That may sound funny to some people today, but Mom never bought whole-wheat bread when I was young. She said it was the kind of food she'd grown up eating during the Depression and it reminded her of being poor when she was young and maybe she was looking to escape her past, but when I first got my driver's license, I'd sneak off to this hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop health food store where I carefully look over oils, nut butters and I shamelessly spent my weekly allowance on carrot juice, heavy frut and nut muffins and raw milk. I'm not really obsessive about food like the organic-only-locally-procured-gluten-sugar-dairy-corn-and-soy-free crowd, but I've always felt at home in natural food stores (the mom and pop types) and I love farmers' markets even more. And most of the foods I eat today happen to be fresh and locally grown.

The event tomorrow evening at 7 pm at the Lynnwood Library features 10 of the healthiest foods to add to your diet. Of course I'll add a few Northwest farmer stories, and I decided to add a slide show since the one in Snohomish was so well-received.

Here are three foods I'll mention and a few of the slides that I'll bring to the show:

Apples have an amazing antioxidant content that inhibits cancer cells and helps lower cholesterol. According to this study, amount of phytochemicals varies among apple varieties with the bright red types containing more phytonutrients than green apples. Also apple peels contain many unique nutrients, so eating the whole apple is a healthier option than sipping fiber-free apple juice.

I snapped this photo at Bellewood Acres last fall at Whatcom County Farm day.

Carrots aren't just for your eyes like your mom may have told you in a lame attempt to lure you to try them as a child. With 87% water content, carrots still have the highest amount of carotene of all vegetables. Lutein, lycopene and alpha and beta--these powerful antioxidants reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. At Carrot Museum website, I learned that most of the nutrients in carrots were just below the skin, yet another reason to leave the skin on and pass on those baby peeled carrots in big bags. These Purple Haze carrots made a perfect picture at Garden Treasures in Arlington.

Berries are also on the list because no self-respecting healthy food list would be complete without them. While people often mention blueberries when asked to name nutritious fruits, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, huckleberries and cranberries all contain unique compounds that compliment each other. One component in strawberries was found to be helpful in memory retention; raspberries contain bone-building vitamin K; and cranberries (blueberry relatives) contain components that prevent E-coli from clinging to the cells of the urinary tract. This colorful photo was snapped at the Pennington Farms booth at the Medford farmers' market in southern Oregon.

These are just a few tidbits to arouse your curiousity about the foods you eat, but the most fascinating thing I discovered while compiling this list of ten foods was that a variety of fruits and vegetables in the diet enhance each other. Though one study in 2010 implied that eating fruits and vegetables won't protect people from getting cancer, another article about carrots and broccolis revealed these two vegetables act on different pathways to protect cells from free-radical cancer causing cells. And a berry study suggested that antioxidants in blueberries were enhanced by phytochemicals in raspberries, implying a diverse diet is as healthy for us as a diverse sustainable farm is for the earth.

My Cooking Assistant (and oldest basset Badger) yawn over my gushing enthusiasm for healthy fresh food. My Assistant isn't really lazy, he just prefers to get back to the real fun--food photos. Hope to see you at the event.

Farm to Church Connections

This photo was part of a slide show in my presentation at this amazing workshop at St. John's Episcopal Church in Snohomish. Because people are so visual and they connect to presenters in different ways, I prepared a slide show for my part in the workshop, but the thing is I'd actually never actually presented a slide show. So I went to the Mac store where a nice techie showed me how to do one. It looked so easy, I created the show and was lulled into thinking it would be a snap. What could go wrong? But once we got my MacBook connected to the projector, we all stared at a blank screen. Fifty-five people and we all waited until this young techie (about 17) arrived, and everyone breathed a collective sign of relief as he saved my show.

A number of people who attended this event recieve weekly CSA boxes from Erick Fritch of Chinook Farms during harvest season. Eric had a beaufiful table near the back of the room, with one of his unique wooden CSA boxes and great photos of his farm. Eric was born and raised in Snohomish and sells his produce primarily through his CSA, but he's also planning on selling at the Edmonds Farmers' Market this coming summer. CSA members come out to his farm to pick up their weekly boxes and sometimes these folks get harvest their own vegetables. "It's fun to watch kids pull a potato from the ground and see where their food really comes from," Eric told me.

Talking with Eric made me recall an interview I did with Jabrila Via of Winter Green Farm in Noti, Oregon when I was writing their farm's profile for The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook. Jabrila had told me about a program in Eugene, Oregon called "That's My Farmer," a unique program that connects faith communities to farmers.

I wanted to share just a few of the many slides that I presented for this workshop. The picture at the top is Michael and Liz of Grouse Mountain Farm in Chelan and both it and the one below were taken at the U-District Market in Seattle.

This is Marilyn Lynn of Rama Farm at the U-District market this past fall. Why not slip some images of my farmers in first? I get Rama Farm's unique tree fruit CSA every year and I've already paid for this season, so I'm ready for Rama Farm peaches when the season arrives in August.

I also couldn't miss the opportunity to tell Nash Huber's story, just in case some people didn't know Nash instigated PCC Farmland Trust when Nash's neighbor's farm was slated for development. He's the only farmer from the Northwest and the only vegetable farmer to recieve the Land Steward of the Year award from American Farmland Trust. I also talked about why Nash's farm crew now also grows seed crops and grains. A local farm hero in Washington, Nash Huber also grows big sweet carrots that have become legendary.

I included photos of Oregon farms and I really like this picture taken Whistling Duck Farm in Grants Pass, Oregon. It really makes the word "hand-harvested" come alive. Many people forget a lot of work goes into bringing this vibrant fresh food to market.

It was my first slide show and I wasn't mortified, but some photos don't work at all on the big screen. I'll weed out the too dark photos for the next event. For comic relief and a few ahhhhh and wake-up moments I tossed in a few photos of my Cooking Assistant. He's a great prop with food because stares at everything like a wind up model.

I leave you with this one of Finn and my bottle of Dunbar Farms Red, produced by David Mostue of Dunbar Farms in Medford, Oregon, because after all, red wine has some health benefits and you can find so many standout varieites produced right here in the Northwest.
I was so inspired and enthused about this event, it was all I could talk about the rest of the day.

I hope other faith centers and churches pick up farm to community trend and help spread the word about locally grown produce from sustainable farms.

Port Townsend Library; The Commander's Beach House; and Nash Huber's Farm Store

For anyone who missed this great dessert auction at the Port Townsend Library, mark your calendars for next year. This annual auction is a great fund raiser for the library and you can check their Web site for more details about future events and fundraisers.

Tables were laden with cookies, cakes and even more amazing pies than my grandmother made. One of the best things about this event was every dessert could be frozen then thawed for Thanksgiving. Low bids started at $25.00, every dessert looked perfect, and every one sold, even this old-fashioned cherry pie that caught my eye. I envy the person who won that delicious bid.
Though it was the usual grey Northwest day with rain on and off, the library event was so festive, I didn't even think about the soggy weather outside. And as soon as I set up my table, I couldn't help perusing the old and new Nancy Drew titles just a few feet away. Just seeing these books made me recall all the different libraries from the many towns I lived in as a child.

After the event I stayed the night at the Commander's Beach House. I have to admit that since we usually travel with dogs, this was my first stay at a B & B and I totally loved it. I won't tell my Cooking Assistant but I didn't miss the dog hair one bit.

When I returned from the dessert auction, I flopped down on a sofa in front of the fireplace and a couple from Fairbanks immediately introduced themselves. I filled my glass with wine and after talking for awhile, Jan mentioned that they were lucky to get a weekly CSA from Full Circle Farm in Carnation. "The fresh food in Alaska really isn't very good," she'd said. "We look forward to our weekly vegetable boxes from the farm." Full Circle Farm is the only farm in Washington that offers this unique CSA for Alaska residents.

I got the lighthouse suite and when Jim showed me my room he said, "Sleep with the window open and listen to the ocean." So that's exactly what I did and the gentle ocean sounds and cool breeze made the night seem magical.

In the morning I gave Jim and Gail a copy of my book, so if you stay there, you can read about local farms and get inspired by our Northwest produce.
The coffee was hot and strong, just the way I like it, and Gail made a gourmet breakfast composed of pear slices with walnuts (not pictured), a tiny souffle, a winter squash round topped with cheese and an old-fashioned oat muffin. As soon as I bit into the muffin, I started talking about Nash's flour--one of my favorite baking ingredients these days and I feel compelled to share this secret with everyone.

I discovered a few bags of dog biscuits for sale on a table before I left--just the thing for my Cooking Assistant stuck at home. As soon as I walked out the door I was dreaming about when I could return to this little piece of paradise. I'm marking my calendar for this event next year for sure.

I made a detour to Nash's Farm Store on the way home and was so excited when I discovered the "bargain" section. Peppers were only 20 cents each, lettuce was $1.25 and celery was $1.50. Sure the celery wasn't quite as crisp as #1 stalks, but I'm not always so picky about texture, especially if it's going into soup, plus I got an entire bag of produce for only $12.00. Who said local isn't affordable?

Even my Cooking Assistant was impressed with my local food finds from Nash's Organic Produce. He keeping his eye on Nash's sweet carrots--in fact he chose the carrot over the beef-flavored dog biscuit I bought when I gave him a choice.

Summer Fruit Bonanza, Freezing Berries and Book Events

Blueberries from Rent's Due Ranch in Stanwood, mulberries (front left), red currants (front right)and a big bowl of North Star Cherries from Grouse Mountain Farm in Chelan were all on my market shopping list last week. The mulberries were already in the freezer when I decided to snap this photo so they look a little frosty. Soon the blueberries and currants will join them in the freezer.

If you're wondering about my freezing method--no wash, no laying carefully on a cookie sheet, just stick the entire box in the freezer--I picked up this tip from Carol and Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston, Oregon. I'm a big fan of shortcuts in the kitchen and when I asked the Bourtards about washing the berries they pointed out that a food handler or chef must wash their hands with soap under hot water. (Food handlers are told only this removes all germs and bacteria.) We rise berries briefly under cold water. Do we really remove enough germs this way? And as far as pesticide removal, the pesticides are usually sticky and resist washing off with plain water. So, organic is the way to go with berries. And it's best to know where your berries were grown. Knowing who grows them is another bonus. Better yet, visit the farm and see for yourself or grow your own pesticide-free berries. Once the berries are frozen, dump them into a plastic ziplock bag. That's it--no fuss.

But cherries are a different story. I freeze and dehydrate a lot of pie cherries, and since they are soft, you don't need a special tool to pit them. Just pull the seeds from the fruit over a glass container to catch the juice that oozes out. Cover, label, and freeze. But be careful and cover up while you work because as you can see the cherry juice spurts all over. It seems to wash off fairly easily.

Finn loves to steal cherries when one falls to the floor. He races away with his treasure, and his eagerness reminds me of Mitzi, our family beagle, when I was young. I was in high school when we moved to Northern California and we had a cherry tree in our backyard. When the cherries ripened and began to fall from the tree, Mitzi got obsessed with the cherries, eagerly eating them as fast as she could, pits and all. And if Mitzi was inside the house, looking out our sliding glass door and saw our tortoise, Bad News, outside walking towards the cherries, Mitzi was beside herself, growling and barking at a silly tortoise whose only aim was to get across the yard. Hound dogs don't like the idea of sharing the feast, even if it's growing in their own backyard.

As for the cherries, I always save enough to make one or two smoothies. I wrote a recipe for a Pie Cherry Smoothie last summer, so check it out. You'll never find this unique smoothie offered at Jamba Juice. This time, I used almond butter from Massa Organics, but you could use yogurt for non-vegan version. Here it is with a mint sprig. I didn't add lavender to it this time, but I bet it would be incredible--just ask my lavender expert friend Kathy Gehrt. And check out her book Discover Cooking with Lavender while you're at it.

This weekend I'm excited to be at the Edmonds Bookshop on Saturday at 11am. (This means, I must gather all my essential food finds at the U-District Market pronto, drop the treasures off at home and head to Edmonds Bookshop where I'll talk about local food and farmers and share a treat or two from my book. This is a great community bookstore that has many unique items you can't find at the big chain bookstores.

Afterwards, I'll tour the Edmonds farmers' market. The market is large and has lots of crafts, produce, hot food, plants and flowers--something for everyone. If you haven't been there, you simply must see it, and while you're there get some of the amazing summer fruit--the season never lasts long enough.

On Sunday from 1 to 2:30pm, I'll be at East West Bookshop in the Roosevelt District. This is a free seminar and it features a few more treats from The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook and I'll talk about trends in Northwest crops, farming challenges and how to move towards a more sustainable plant-based diet--for the planet and your health. I've been a vegetarian healthy local food geek for years and it's fun to share tips and delicious recipe ideas that encourage people to eat more local fruits and vegetables. I'm looking forward to connecting with other local food lovers and curious onlookers at this event.

This is the last weekend for my big Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook giveaway, so stop by either event and write your name, address and phone number down, drop it in the box and look for your name listed early next week. An unbiased party (my neighbor) draws the winning name. Last weeks winner was Ed Haskins from the U-District.

What's Cooking at the Market

This Saturday morning I'm making some of my favorite easy recipes at the University District farmers' market. The cooking demo starts at 10:00am. Last week the demo tent shifted from the front of the market (near University) to the side (along 50th). This cooking demo shift happened because Rockridge Orchards is now where Rama Farm was for the last few summers. (The lines for Rama peaches are so long it was hard to get to other vendors near them.) So now Rama Farm is now where the information booth used to be. The information booth is where the demo tent--right across from Rama.

I'm looking forward to whipping up a cherry vinaigrette, a creamy Northwest greens soup and an amazing fruit and hazelnut dressing served over berries and apricots. Who doesn't love all this great Northwest produce?

I'm also selling The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook at a discount. (The retail price is $19.95 and the books will sell at the market for $18.00.) For those who are interested, I'm offering a chance to win a free copy of my cookbook. All you have to do is enter the drawing--name address and phone number--and the winning entry will be drawn on Sunday July 25th. I'll call the number and post your name if you win. (But you must confirm my phone message in 48 hours or I'll draw a new name.) Last week's winner was Brett Lukens from Port Angeles.

The University District market is the perfect place for a demo to celebrate my book. I've shopped at this great community market for years. I've met some of my best friends here, and 9 farmers and 1 beekeeper at this market are featured in the profiles of my book. Read about how Nash Huber of Nash's Produce was instrumental in starting PCC Farmland Trust, or how Bob Meyer of Stoney Plains was instrumental in starting the University District Market--the bell that starts sales at this market, rings for Bob. You'll also discover the challenges of tree fruit growers like Mair-Farm Taki and Grouse Mountain Farm. I wish I could have included all the farmers' stories, but Timber Press voted for an equal number of Oregon farms--which all makes for delicious reading. I'll write more about Oregon farms in the upcoming weeks when I visit the markets and farmers there.

See you at the market!

Sneak Previews and Garden Treasures

I laid awake at night thinking about a year-round fruit vinaigrette recipe-- where you use the same basic ingredients (oil and vinegar) and just change the fruit as the seasons rotate.

The whole idea started with a recipe I picked up at a market. I don't remember where I got it but it featured greens with sliced strawberries and rhubarb dressing. The rhubarb dressing (cooked rhubarb and sugar, pureed into a vinaigrette sparked a cascade of vinaigrette possibilities--raspberry (been done), blueberry (ditto), apricot, pie cherry . . .

I got obsessed with this idea and one morning created pie cherry vinaigrette. I sampled as I made it to tweak the flavors and then I had it over greens. (Yes, for breakfast). Today, I made this vinaigrette with apricots and immediately wondered how it might taste with ginger--maybe sesame, ginger, apricot dressing. With different fruits, the sweetener or honey needs tweaking, and you'd probably have to cook hard fruit like apples before blending. It's a good year-round recipe. Finn give it four paws up.

Here is the recipe:

Cherry Vinaigrette Over Greens with Berries

(Makes about 1 cup or about 10 servings)

This recipe is a sample of our Northwest summer produce all in one salad. Try this vinaigrette with peaches, nectarines or plums and see how much you might alter the other ingredients.

1/2 cup pitted tart cherries (Montmorency or North Star)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

4 teaspoons honey

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

10 to 12 cups salad greens

1 pint berries (use blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries)

1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts (optional)

Blend cherries, olive oil, vinegar, honey, cayenne and salt in a blender until smooth and creamy. Place greens on a serving plate. Drizzle vinaigrette over the greens; then top each serving with berries and hazelnuts.

I'll be making this with North Star cherries at my upcoming cooking demo at the University District Market on Saturday July 24).

At the Saturday demo, I'm also making an Easy Creamy Northwest Greens Soup and a fruit salad called Ambrosia, with a hazelnut-berry dressing. I submitted the soup recipe to Culinate where they'll feature it soon. The soup is called Easy Creamy Turnip Greens Soup in my book.

Also, this weekend I'm hosting another contest to win a signed copy of my book. If you miss me at the U-District Market, catch me at any of my other events. I'll also be selling signed copies of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook at all my book events.
On the garden front, Tom harvested the two cabbages that he'd placed way too close to our blueberry bushes. "Who does that?" I wondered every time I'd walked by them, then I'd feel sorry for them having to share such a small space. We had too many plants to put in our small garden this past spring. As the cabbage plants got bigger, I noticed the blueberry plants were stressed.

Hopefully our blueberry plants can recover from our overcrowded garden space this spring. The cabbage and these sugar snap peas will definitely be part of our salad tonight.

July Events and Book Giveaways

See Finn's tail wagging? He'd rather have biscotti than a free book. I baked this lemon-hazelnut biscotti ( a recipe from my book); then I got ready for upcoming book events.

Every weekend this month I'm busy with fun cooking demos, book signings and farm and food talks. Check my July venue below and join me. At each event, you can enter a drawing to win a signed free copy of my new book--The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook.

I draw a winner's name each Sunday from July 11th through August 1st. (Who knows maybe I'll continue through August.) The first winner on July 11th was Teresa Salak who entered the drawing at Magnolia's Bookstore on July 10th. You can check this blog to find out who won for the week.

On July 11th I was at Marlene's Market and Deli where I made two salad dressings, a cool fruit soup and my favorite smoothie recipe--all from my book. On Marlene's Web site, check out my new column called "Take 5" in the July issue of Marlene's monthly newspaper The Sound Outlook.
These are the remaining July events (plus August 1st). I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing food, farm and gardening stories.

July 17 -- 12-3pm

I'll be at Mrs. Cooks in University Village making some great seasonal recipes to share while I talk about favorite local farms and food. I'll answer all your burning produce questions.

July 18 -- 11-1pm

I'll be at Lake Forest Park farmer's market for a book signing. This is a great fairly new community farmers' market and after you've finished shopping here, you can browse Third Place Books. How cool is that? Come listen to stories about local farmers, get produce information, discover new ways to serve summer produce and just chat about gardens, markets and local foods.

Here is a cool sign from one of the farmers at the Lake Forest Park farmers' market.

July 24 -- 10-11am

Look for me at the U-District Farmers' Market doing a cooking demo instead of my usual shopping and socializing with friends. I created a new recipe especially for this demo--a pie cherry vinaigrette that I'd been thinking about for days. I'll also make one of my favorite soups and an easy fruit salad with a hazelnut butter dressing.

This is a photo of the U-District market before it opens and fills with summer crowds.

July 24 -- 3 to 5:30pm

After the market, I'll head south to the Pacific Northwest Writers' Conference at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center where a number of my writers' group friends and I will present a panel discussion about successful writers' groups.

July 25 -- 1 to 3pm

I'm happy to announce some Northwest CostCo stores will be carrying my books and I'll be at the Everett CostCo for a book signing event. I'd love to answer produce questions or just chat about local food and farms. Be sure to stop to help encourage big stores like CostCo hop on the local food bandwagon.

July 31-- 11 to 1pm

I'll be at the Edmonds Bookshop (in Edmonds, of course). It's about 1/2 block from the Edmonds Summer farmers' market, so come chat with me about farms, fruits and vegetables, then head to the market and buy some great local produce and of course don't leave the market without some beautiful flowers.

August 1 -- 1 to 2:30 pm

Join me at East-West Bookshop for a discussion about Northwest produce, the challenges of local farmers, sustainable diets and local food trends at the markets, in gardens and in restaurants.

Fremont Place Books, Salads and Carrots

I'll be at Fremont Place Books May 30th, this Sunday, at 300pm to talk about The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook, share farmer stories and recipes. I'm bringing a treat from the book, but I'll surprise you with that one. I think I'll stop at the Fremont farmers' market before this event. Who knows what treats I'll find there?

I'm excited about sharing farmer stories that went into this "labor of love" cookbook. In the meantime, I'm refreshing my energy that gets sapped from shoe-leather book marketing by filling up on the luscious spring offerings from my garden and the market.
Check it out, gourmet salad from my own garden. I love edible flowers like these violas and Sky Nursery has a terrific supply. The pickles in this second photo are from Zoe's Favorites, a vendor I discovered at the Portland farmers' market. The tender greens are also from my garden, and the vinegar and oils are also from the market. This week JoanE from Rent's Due Ranch returns to the U-District Market, hopefully with her fantastic raspberry vinegar since my supply is dwindling. I'm including a bottle of her vinegar in a cookbook/local food basket for the silent auction at Food Lust, a farm dinner at Willie Green's Organic Farm on June 5.
Asparagus also adds a nice touch this time of year. I can't get enough of it and this week it's grilling time since I haven't grilled any yet this season. I think I'll also pick up some hazelnuts from Holmquist Orchards and toast them for my salad feast options. I wish we had Rogue Creamery here because I love their blue cheeses. I have a tiny bit of their lavender cheese and that flavor combination is heavenly, too.

There isn't any particular recipe for success when making salads, just toss in whatever fresh vegetables you like; then add a drizzle of oil and vinegar. For garnish you can shave or crumble your favorite cheese or sprinkle spiced chopped hazelnuts or walnuts over the top.

Jeff Miller of Willie Green's Organic Farm was first at the U-District market with baby carrots this spring. How does he get his vegetables so sweet? I asked. "It's the soil," he replied with a shrug.

Whatever it is, I love these treasures so much I have to buy a bunch for the food hounds because I don't want to share.

It doesn't look like Finn wants to share either. He knows this is a four star (paws-up) vegetable.